Soul
by David Shigure
Summary: It's been three years since Cloud defeated Sephiroth for the second time, atop the ruins of Shinra Tower. A new foe is stirring. An old enemy becomes a new ally. A childhood promise is fulfilled, and the destiny of two people forever becomes one.


Welcome. I've been dying to write a Final Fantasy VII story recently, and came up with this!  
It's a CloTi fic, designed to be funny, showing a future where Cloud seems to have forgiven himself and lives on the lighter side of life. That is, until the day it all changes...  
Enjoy :)

* * *

'Soul'

Chapter 1: Midnight Sun

"Come here, you." Cloud Strife growled. He had just been hit in the face with a pillow. Stepping around the bed, he made a grab for the pillow. Another hand fell onto it first. "Gee, your getting slow." His childhood friend, and long-time heartache, Tifa Lockhart giggled at him. "I'm not slow, I'm trying to keep it down. We're gonna wake the kids up." He whispered, smiling at her. "Correction. Your going to wake the kids up. I'm not the one built like a rock, causing an earthquake every time I tiptoe on the floorboards." She continued to giggle at him. Her face filled with joy caused him to smile, giggling softly too.

"That's it. Nobody calls me a rock and gets away with it." He bundled her on to the bed, straddling her waist. He grinned evilly at her. "I guess this is where it ends for you." Tifa grinned back, her dark brown eyes sparkling in the dim light of their room. "Oh no, the big, scary, spiky-blond rock has got me pinned." Cloud had to fight the urge not to laugh out loud. "Moron, stop making me laugh. Seriously, the next thing we're gonna hear is Denzel or Marlene kicking down the door and beating us into unconsciousness."

"Oh, but I like hearing you laugh." Tifa moaned, pretending to sound childish. "I know, I like hearing me laugh too." He smiled. "And I'm sure the kids like to hear me laugh. But not while they're trying to sleep." Tifa wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. She was more interested in trying to wiggle out from underneath Cloud's muscular frame. "Cloud..." She muttered whilst struggling in her endeavour. "Is it possible for you to get any heavier?" She grabbed his thighs, trying to lever her way from underneath them. "Maybe. All I have to do is eat more of your delicious home-cooking, not go exercising and wait a couple of weeks." He crossed his arms and shifted his weight down to his buttocks, making it harder on Tifa to escape. "ugh...come on, that's not fair." She complained. "Neither is calling me a rock." He grinned mischievously. She continued to struggle fruitlessly whilst Cloud just grinned at her. "And since when did you do exercise anyway?" She teased around her huffing and puffing. "All you ever do is eat, sleep, deliver packages to strangers on your crazy bike parked outside and occasionally do the odd press-up now and again."

"That's not true!" Cloud pretended to be offended. He shifted his weight again to annoy her. "Ow!" she moaned. She eyed him sourly. "You're a big jerk, you know that?" Cloud shook his head with his arms crossed, like a little kid would do to his mother when refusing to go to bed. "I'm not the one constantly teasing me over my weight, size, shape and agenda."  
"True." Tifa remarked, a sly smile on her face. "And I guess you do move around a bit, like when you used to wave that big sword around." A nostalgic smile appeared on his face. "I haven't touched that thing in a while. Where did I put it?" Tifa thought for a moment. "I think it's in that glass cabinet you got for it, down in the cellar."

She had finally given up on trying to get out from under him and stuck to giving him evil glares.  
"Okay, alright. Listen, your not a rock, okay? Now sort out your bruised ego and let me out from under you!" She huffed. "That's better." Cloud shifted his weight slightly so that Tifa could wiggle her legs out from underneath his thighs. "Finally." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Any longer and I could forget about having kids." She poked him lightly in the ribs. " It's a wonder your not overweight. You eat enough of my cooking to feed an army." Cloud lay down on his back, sinking into the soft mattress. "Me? Overweight? If it means getting to eat more of your food in one go, why not?" He smirked. "You pig!" Tifa jumped on top of him, straddling his waist. Their eyes met, locking with each other. Tifa licked her lips in anticipation. "Hey Cloud..." She lay down on top of him, her breasts pressed against his torso. "What do you feel like for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Hmm." Cloud put a finger to his lips, his eyes turned up as he thought about all the delicious food Tifa could make. "How about... waffles?" He finally decided. "Waffles!? Again? You've been eating nothing but waffles all week." She sounded exasperated. "I know, but they're so good." His eyes glazed as he thought about the many different ways you could serve up a waffle. "You, are addicted to the things." She sighed.

She laid her head to rest on his chest. She closed her eyes, and concentrated on Cloud's breathing, and the motion of his chest moving up and down. It relaxed her, it gave her a sense of security. She moved her hands under his shirt, rubbing her palms against his abdominals and chest. "Your as warm as a chocobo..." She sighed. Cloud smiled softly. "A chocobo, huh?" He moved his body so that he could sit up. "It is getting a little warm in here." He reached for the bottom of his shirt, intending to take it off. "Wait." Tifa stopped his hands with her own. She looked into his bright blue eyes. "Let me..." She murmured. She clasped the end of his shirt, lifting it slowly over his spiky, blond hair. She threw it aside, glancing his torso up and down.

There were several scars across his chest and stomach, as well as the one on his upper arm, left by Sephiroth. Actually, pretty much all the scars decorating Cloud's torso were awarded by Sephiroth. But to Cloud, they were all part of a life he had long left behind. She traced the smallest of the scars, the one lining his stomach, with her index finger. It was slowly fading away, like a distant memory. But she could still remember clearly how he had received the wound. The routine expedition to the Nibelheim Mako reactor from Shinra, that had gone horribly wrong.  
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the unpleasant memories. Cloud smiled sadly at her. "Reminiscing, were we?" She nodded her head slowly. "I never properly thanked you for saving me that day." She looked up into his eyes. "You came through with your promise. You became my hero, forever." She smiled, her eyes closing softly. She pushed Cloud onto his back. "I'm glad..." He whispered, his eyes closed.

Tifa turned her head, kissing him on the chest softly, again and again. She began working her way up, tracing the outlines of his muscles with her tongue. She pushed herself higher, softly caressing his neck with a flurry of kisses. Cloud leaned his head the other way, giving her better access to his neck. She continued with the assault, moving higher, until she was level with his face. His eyes sprung open, staring deep into her own. "Cloud..." She whispered softly. His arms had snaked their way behind her and had burrowed underneath her shirt, moving up so that he could hold her close and feel the warmth of her body on his skin. "Tifa..." His voice was barely audible, his voice was shaky. Their faces moved closer. He could feel her soft, shaky breath against his cheek. He closed his eyes and reached forward slowly, planting his lips against hers.

Tifa responded by increasing the pressure, turning the gentle, soft kiss into a strong, passionate kiss. Her hands moved behind his head, her fingers caressing his soft, golden hair. Her thighs, still straddling Cloud's midriff, tightened as her grip on him increased. Every fibre within her body screamed at her to never let go, to hold on tight, as though he might disappear. Her pent-up lust and passion for him had overtaken her mind completely. Cloud finally broke the kiss, gasping for breath. "Your certainly frisky tonight." He said, after regaining some air back into his lungs. "Of course." She smiled malevolently. "And it's only going to get worse, at least until I pass out from exhaustion."

She looked up into his eyes, a voluptuous smile spreading across her face. "I'm not letting you go again, Cloud Strife. Tonight, I'm going to make you mine, and mine only. Forever...." She whispered breathlessly. The words had come straight from her heart. They were the words she had wanted to say, for a very long time. "Cloud. I love you." She whispered into his ear.

Cloud grinned, staring at the ceiling above her head as she proceeded to nibble his ear softly. "I know. You've never let me forget for the past year or so." He pulled her away from his ear reluctantly, staring deep into her chocolate coloured eyes. "Tifa, I love you too. More than... anything." The two of them smiled, losing themselves within each others eyes momentarily. They moved closer, planting a kiss on each others lips, closing their eyes and enjoying the sensation.  
...

"Listen, Vinnie. I know you mean well, and all, but I really don't think Cloud and Tifa are gonna appreciate being woken up at five in the morning by something this... trivial." Yuffie Kisaragi complained, hugging her coat to herself. She was walking down a cold, dark street in the middle of Edge, alongside a brooding, troubled Vincent Valentine. "And besides, what if we walk in on them doing something..." Her mind shivered as she thought of the two of them engaging in a number of 'inappropriate' activities. Well, inappropriate for her age anyway. She shook her head quickly to clear her mind of her thoughts.

As usual, Vincent was silent, lost in his own world. Yuffie, being smaller than he was, had to jog to keep up with his long strides. "Vincent, I really think we should just..." Vincent cut her off before she could finish. "We're going to stay in the bar until they wake up in the morning. And then we'll tell them." He said flatly. "Oh, good..." She was relieved. Walking up to their bedroom and bursting in on them to tell them the Nibelheim Mako Reactor was acting a bit... funny was not her idea of appeasing her friends need of privacy. But, now that she thought about it, that was a pretty stupid thing to do and Vincent wasn't a stupid guy.

The cold wind picked up, biting into her exposed legs mercilessly. She rubbed them together, trying to share the body heat between them. "I really need to start thinking about investing in a pair of decent trousers." She thought. "How much longer is it until we get to the damn bar?" She moaned mentally. They continued walking for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. The outside lights of the bar were off, partially camouflaging Cloud's bike, Fenrir, in it's shadow. "They're home..." Vincent murmured. He walked to the front door, unlocking it swiftly with his claw and pushed it open slowly. He walked inside, his crimson cloak floating behind him. Yuffie followed quietly, trying not to think of the many possible things that could go wrong with their endeavour.

Vincent walked over to the tables by the darkened windows, turning to sit on one of the soft chairs. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, leaning his head against the wall behind him. Yuffie walked over to the table, turning to sit opposite Vincent and lay down on one of the pillows covering the bench chairs. "Good night, Vincent." She mumbled sleepily. She heard him grunt in reply, making her smile. He was such a charismatic man, he never let go of his image, even for a second. Eventually, the fatigue in her body overwhelmed her and soon, her mind wandered to dreaming about how funny it would look if Vincent rode a chocobo across Cosmo Canyon.

* * *

So far, so good?  
Please R&R, I'll upload Chapter 2 quicker if you do :)

Shigure .x


End file.
